Photo Friday! {Summer Recap}

This summer was filled to the brim with trips and food and sun and sand and music and rainbows and more food. Which is why I have a lot of catching up to do (again). This week, I will be recapping the end of my summer fun.

Three weekends ago, (OMG has it been that long!) over Labor Day weekend, I went on a short trip to New York to visit the fam. There was a 3-day long reunion that included four generations of family! (Like, whoa!) It also included sand in my toes, beautiful sunsets, pizza, pasta, goat meat (from the farm, upstate) and more sand.

The week after I returned included this incredible (double) rainbow. I was so in awe with it, I took about a billion pictures of it. As soon as the rainbow/sunset had faded, I moved inside to watch a few awesome people play amazing music.

I know it is random, but I just had to share: I pass this mailbox on the way to work sometimes and it makes me laugh, thinking about the amped up mail inside.

Lastly, the boyfriend’s cousin and friends were in town and we all hung out in the Mission, eating tacos, of course.

And, yes, there was a Rosh Hashanah dinner that I went to this weekend, and there are pictures from that, but, well, I figured I should save those for next week. 🙂 So enjoy the week and stay tuned!

What I’m Reading Wednesday

This week I do not have much to share because I have been reading articles about things for school research and not reading so many “for fun” things.

But here’s what I have read in my spare time that I enjoyed:

For starters, I think it is important to know where the letters come from.

I mean, how are you supposed to read anything before knowing that? 🙂

P.S. Did you know that Count from Sesame Street died recently? Ah, AH, ah. (That would be so much better if read out loud in your best Count voice, trust me.)

Now that we’ve moved on past the basics of letters and numbers, let’s get real.

I am sure you have all heard of “pop-up” restaurants like my favorite Rice Paper Scissors. And, you may have read my posts that mention the Underground Market, but have you heard of a pop-up restaurant that is literally underground?

Now that we are all on the same page about these restaurants, what they know about you.

That’s all the reading I’ve been able to do lately. I hope that’s enough to tide you over ’til next week! If not, I am working on editing my photos, and there will definitely be a post on Friday, and hopefully some more over the next few days.

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee! {Recipe}

First off, let me apologize for not writing anything for a long(ish) time. I have been busy with school and work and, well, have used my time to focus on other things (such as playing a certain game on Facebook) when I should have been editing photos and posting on here. So so sorry. Really. I love writing blog posts and everything, and sharing fun things with you. AND I am sorry I have not posted a recipe on here in an even longer time. So here’s just a few to get things rolling.

As you may already know, I like doing things in more than one way. This time around, I used coffee in three different recipes. For starters, I tried making coffee ice cream, but that turned out to be less than desirable.

The next recipe I tried was this Hot Fudge Pudding Cake, from Delish. Instead of making one large cake, I made cupcakes, which were good, but a bit sticky. I called them muddy cupcakes because they were so moist and soaked through with coffee.

The third recipe I tried was a version of rice krispies that involved chocolate and coffee, among other things. It had been years since I made anything in the rice krispie treat realm.

Anyway, my treats do not look as dark/chocolatey as the pictures shown on Shutterbean, but are just as tasty. Also, I did not add dried cherries or extra ‘mallows, as the recipe calls for. I figured it was chock-full of stuff as it was. Feel free to change up the mix-ins as desired.

Coffee Chocolate Marshmallow Krispies

from Shutterbean!

makes 12

recipe adapted slightly from Christina Tosi of Milk Bar via Rachael Ray Magazine

• 1 stick salted butter
• 2 bags (10 oz. each) mini marshmallows
• 5 cups crispied rice cereal
• 2 cups salted roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups dried cherries, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground coffee (not instant)
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• cooking spray

Line a 9 inch square baking dish with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. In a 10-12 quart pot, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add 10 cups mini marshmallows and cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 5 minutes; remove the pot from the heat.

Using a wet spoon or spatula, fold in the rice cereal. Sprinkle in the almonds, cherries, ground coffee & salt; fold quickly to distribute. Sprinkle in the chocolate chips and remaining mini marshmallows; fold gently to distribute.

Spoon mixture into the prepared baking dish. Using slightly damp hands or a wet spatula, press into an even layer. Let cool completely and cut into square to serve.